I Will Not Say Goodbye
by Icy Rundas
Summary: Raimi refuses to let him die, so she uses her ultimate justu. Will saving him cost her *her* life? She doesn't care. Uh...this is Raimi from Never Surrender, but this has no connection other than that. Yet another AsumaXOC thing: another one-shot.


As soon as we had gotten the word that Asuma's team had run into some trouble with Akatsuki, I was off. Ino, Choji, and the other two had trouble keeping up with me, I was going so fast. I just felt like…something bad was going to happen. I was right…as soon as I got into view, I saw it happen. He slumped over forward. I increased my speed. 'No, no, no, no, no!' It couldn't be true. He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't. I ran over and tried to punch the guy. He dodged it easily.

"Heh…I'm guessing you were close to him. Oh, well. Too fucking bad for you." Anger took hold of my facial features. I let out an angry cry and started wailing on him. He blocked almost all of my hits.

"Don't try, Raimi…he can't die…" a weak Shikamaru spoke up from the ground, where he lay, defeated at the loss of his sensei. I kept throwing punches at the guy until the others finally caught up. They distracted the two Akatsuki long enough for Choji to grab Asuma and get out of the way. The two of them started communicating with someone, and then they left. I cursed loudly. We laid Asuma on the roof, where Ino tried to heal him. She couldn't do anything. He said some words to his former team, and then to me.

"Raimi…please…" I picked up his hand and squeezed it tight to show him I was listening intently.

"Take care of this bunch for me, Rai…and take care of yourself…and…don't go looking for revenge…" I shook my head, unshed tears prickingat the edges of my eyes.

"I…I…you're not going to die. I can prevent this from happening…I'm going to do it-"

"Rai, please. I'm not worth it." I pointedly ignored the latter statement and turned to look at Kotetsu and Izumo.

"Did you happen to get any of the enemy's blood on your weapons?" Izumo nodded and handed me the sword with the Akatsuki member's blood all over it. I slid my thumb over the blood, and then I slid my other thumb over the cut on Asuma's cheek. He flinched slightly.

"Raimi-"

"I'm not letting you die, damn it! I'm going to do this, and you can't stop me!" I hissed softly, right before I kissed him on the cheek and stood up.

"Shikamaru, that circle on the ground…I just have to make sure he stays out of it, right?" The boy nodded, obviously confused. I bit both of my thumbs, making them bleed and making my blood mix with the Akatsuki member's blood and Asuma's blood. I began to do the handsigns that I had practiced for so long.

"Raimi, please! Even…if it works, when…this is…finished, you'll be in the hospital…for a month…at least!" I finished doing the last of the handsigns.

"Asuma…I love you, and I'm not letting you leave me…Hidden Shinobi Technique: Time Bending Distortion! Return to the Past!" Time and space around me started to swirl around and around, becoming disrupted by my technique. Before I knew it, I had gone back enough, to the point where Tsunade was about to get the call for help from Asuma's team. Without a word, I jumped out the window and headed for where they were at. I didn't wait for backup; if I did, I could risk him dying. Not soon enough, I saw them all on the horizon. The Akatsuki member was just about to strike himself in the heart and finish off Asuma. I ran towards them as fast as I could. 'Please let me make it, please let me make it…' While the crazy Jashinist was laughing about killing Asuma, he didn't see me coming up. Right as he plunged the spear, I tackled him out of the circle he was standing in.

"Raimi…you made it," came Shikamaru's voice from not far away. The Akatsuki member threw me off of him angrily.

"Stupid bitch! I'll fucking sacrifice you!" I put myself in between him and the circle. 'Better me than him…' I pressed my hand to my shoulder, where his spear had gone through when I tackled him. I disregarded my shoulder after that, calmly getting into my token defensive fighting stance. Luckily for me, I only had to keep him busy for a few minutes until the others arrived. They took Asuma out of the way and distracted the man so I could get out of the fight. They started communicating with someone, like before, and then they left again. I went over to the group where Shikamaru was giving orders.

"Ino, use your medical nin-jutsu."

"That should…be enough…to keep him alive…until…we get back…to the village." We got him back to the village, where Lady Tsunade took over. She took him to the hospital. Not long after that, when we were giving her our report, I fell forward onto the floor, unconscious. Shikamaru freaked out and went with Tsunade when she took me to the hospital.

"What's wrong with you, Raimi?"

"The side…effects of my…hidden technique…they make me…really weak…for a long time…I'm fine, Shikamaru…how is…Asuma?"

"He's getting better. You know…it's only because of you that he's still here. He told me to tell you that. And that as soon as he can get out of his bed, he's coming to see you." I smiled.

"Thank you, Shikamaru. If he had…died…both of…us…would have felt…like we were responsible…I…had to do something…" He gave me a rare smile and left.

It felt like I spent weeks in the hospital, bored out of my mind with nothing to do, when really, it was only a few days. I spent most of my time thinking about him, and hoping that he was healing well. My shoulder still hurt a little, but I was slowly regaining my strength. That technique was one that I hardly ever used, just because of the effects it had on me later. There were also time restrictions on the technique, like the blood had to be reasonably fresh, within approximately fifteen to twenty minutes after making contact with oxygen. I also couldn't go back too far in time, or else I would be lost in the space-time continuum or something like that. There was also the part that I couldn't tamper with things that had already happened. Like… even if I could go back that far, I wouldn't be allowed to prevent the Third Hokage from dying. Certain things were not allowed to be touched. Anyway…I got a knock on my door. I assumed it was Shikamaru or Tsunade checking up on me, but I was happily surprised.

"You're…up and…moving already? Lucky…" He chuckled and came over to my bed.

"And I see that you're not so lucky. I'm sorry, Raimi." I shook my head.

"No. It…was my decision, and…you…wouldn't be here if I…hadn't have done it…" I flushed and turned away.

"Raimi…thank you. I owe you my life."

"Hn…consider it…payment for…however many times…you've saved…my sorry…ass." He sat down next to me.

"Your ass isn't sorry, Rai. I actually kinda like your ass." I gawked at him.

"Don't…say that…you'll…turn into Jiraiya…" I mumbled. He put his arm around my shoulder. I flinched at the contact with my still-injured shoulder.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot about your shoulder."

"It's fine…it doesn't hurt…as much as it did." He laid back on the bed and I copied his actions. It was silent between us for the next several minutes, but not the awkward kind of silence. It was more like…the "enjoying each other's company" silence. I turned sideways to face him, propping myself up on my elbow.

"Asuma?"

"Hmm?" I waited until he was facing me.

"…I love you. I…did what I did…because of that reason…and that reason only."

"Hmm…Raimi?"

"Yeah?"

"…I love you too." My face broke out into a smile.

"That's…good to know." He raised an eyebrow.

"That's all you're going to say? 'That's good to know?'" I grinned and kissed him on the nose before he could do anything.

"Cute. Real cute."

"Tch, come on…I was just kidding! I'm…sorry. Asuma!" He gave me a look and I sighed.

"Meh…fine…I'll…do whatever you want, but…you have to…forgive me."

"I want you…to marry me." My jaw dropped.

"A-Are you serious? You…can't really…mean that, can you?" He frowned.

"Of course I'm serious, Rai. Why would I even say it if I wasn't serious…?" I turned my head and smiled.

"All right."

"All right what?"

"All right. I'll marry you. But it's gonna have to wait until I get out of here."

"Really?"

"Why…would I…even say it…if I wasn't serious?" I mocked him. He poked my injured shoulder and I inhaled sharply.

"Aye, what…was that for? That hurt…" He laughed at me and I turned away from him, pouting. He wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"Raimi, I love you."

"Uh huh…sure you do." He nuzzled his face in my neck and I smiled softly.

"You want me to prove it to you, Rai?" I turned my head and looked him in the eye, wondering if he meant what I thought he meant.

"In the hospital? What if Tsunade or Shikamaru comes to check on mfph…" He cut me off by pressing his lips against mine. He faintly tasted like smoke, but oddly enough, I didn't mind it much. He crawled on top of me.

"Mmm…be careful…of the shoulder…"

"Uh huh…" He kissed me until we heard a soft giggle from outside the door.

"All right, come…in…" The door opened and Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino came in. Shikamaru rolled his eyes at our position and Choji grinned.

"Heeey, Sensei's getting some girlie action." Ino came over and put her hands on her hips.

"Sensei, you pulled Raimi's stitches out!" I raised an eyebrow.

"Why…are you guys…here?"

"Lady Hokage asked us to check on Sensei, and he wasn't in his room, so we guessed that he came here." She used her medical nin-jutsu to fix my shoulder.

"Well…you found me…can you leave now?" he asked irritably. I chuckled and he glared at me.

"We're…uh…"

"We're supposed to take you back to your room. Doctor's orders…and it's really troublesome going looking for you…" Asuma looked annoyed.

"You can…come visit me…tomorrow, love." He got off me with a huff and whispered something in my ear. I turned red at his words.

"I'll be back tomorrow, Rai." I pecked him on the cheek and he left with his former team. I smiled to myself. 'It was worth being in the hospital for a month…you don't know how crazy I am about you…' I thought back and remembered the expression on his face right before I got there. It was like…he knew he was going to die. I shuddered at the memory. If I hadn't have gotten there when I did…damned Akatsuki.

"Tch…as soon as I get better, I'm going after his stupid Jashinist ass…" I stared up at the ceiling and fell asleep, visions of a chibi me cutting his head off with an axe floating through my mind.


End file.
